Sarawak pulls out of Tourism Malaysia over tax insults

Yet another sign of split and disagreement under Prime Minister Najib Razak’s rule.

The Sarawak government has simply pulled its representative from the board of Tourism Malaysia.

A statement from the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Office stated the pullout was with immediate effect.

Sources said the pullout followed a barrage of insults from the Minister of Tourism and Culture Nazri Aziz on the Sarawak counterpart Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who apparently opposed a new tax on hotels.

This was not mentioned by the Chief Minister’s Office instead stating that Sarawak already had a Tourism Promotion Board.

“The state government deems that the participation of its representatives in Tourism Malaysia is not necessary as this is duplicating the role and function of the Sarawak Tourism Promotion Board,” its statement said.